Free Will Astrology | May 1-7

ARIES (March 21-April 19) Your power symbol for the week is an ant carrying a potato chip. It means you’ll possess so much strength that you’ll be able to hold aloft burdens that are much bigger than you. More than that, Aries. You’ll look graceful doing it. And here’s the kicker. That giant load you carry may ultimately provide nourishment not only for you but also for everyone back at the nest.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20) Have you ever been filled with a terrible yearning to become something new? Do you know what it’s like to be racked with a ferocious hunger to change your life? Speaking from experience, I know that such a state can sometimes feel heavy and dark. But I’m here to tell you that it can also be a tremendous asset. The key to transforming it into a gift, ironically, is to see it as a gift. So your assignment, Taurus, is to interpret your ache for transformation as a potent blessing. To do so will give you the power to perform magic you can’t even imagine yet.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20) Ariel was going through a hard time. She’d been weaning herself from a painkiller she’d taken while recovering from surgery. Her cat ran away, and there was a misunderstanding at work. One night while at a nightclub with her friend Leila, she spied her ex-boyfriend kissing some woman. Meltdown ensured. Ariel fled the club and ran sobbing into the street, where she hurled her shoes on top of a passing bus. Leila retrieved her and sat her down on a bench. “Because up until now you’ve displayed such exemplary grace in the face of chaos,” Leila said, “I’m giving you a free Crazy Pass. It gives you a karma-free license to temporarily lose your mind.” This compassionate humor helped Ariel feel more composed. The rest of the night she partied beautifully, achieving major relief and release without hurting herself. Now, Gemini, in accordance with the omens, I’m awarding you, too, with a free Crazy Pass.

CANCER (June 21-July 22) It’s finally the right time for you to hear a piece of advice you weren’t ready for before. If I had told you this any earlier, you would have at best misinterpreted it and at worst had no idea what I was talking about. But in recent weeks you’ve recovered a portion of your lost wildness, which means I can confidently reveal the following truth, courtesy of poet Charles Simic: “He who cannot howl will not find his pack.”

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22) There’s oil on Saturn’s moon Titan! NASA reports that its spacecraft Cassini found vast lakes of liquid hydrocarbons. There’s enough, from what I can tell, to supply 40 generations of humans with enough fuel to go joyriding in five-mile-a-gallon SUVs for a thousand years. In response to the revelation, militant patriots are already calling for the U.S. to invade and occupy Titan. In related news, I predict that a novel energy source will soon become available for your personal use, Leo. Luckily, it won’t be nearly as hard to tap into as Titan’s riches will be for the oil companies. It’ll also be much better for the environment.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22) “Whatcha gonna do with your freedom?” asks Lakshmi Devi on “Freedom,” a song from her CD Raise a Holy Fire. Here’s what she says she’ll do with hers: “I choose to lose control in the presence of staggering beauty/ I choose to be stripped of what is unreal.” In my view, that’s an epically brazen way to use one’s freedom — right up there, in terms of radical moral zeal, with choosing to ease the suffering of everyone you encounter. With these examples to inspire you, Virgo, take some time to make an aggressive new formulation about how you’ll use your growing freedom.